Iam in need of some good advice. Iam looking into buying a handheld model. Garmin seems to be the most popular. Just wondering what model will be the best for me. How many of the trick little features do you actually use, like mapping, color screen, size memory, ect. What are the pro and cons of getting a cheepy vs more expensive one. I will be using it mostly when i go to the desert. I don't see a need at home or work unless you can tell me some neat uses.

I have a Magellan Platinum. I have a mount in my sandrail and that is where I get my speed indication from a long with any other data I need. Mainly just a straight-line path back to camp if that is what I want for some reason. Could also help in an emergency so you can give coordinates of your location to rescue personnel.

As for home use I have used it many times when traveling. Instead of getting a local map at the gas station I use my GPS with that regions maps loaded in it, also use it when traveling to give ETA and other info.

The type of sand toy you have might be a consideration.......where you plan to mount or carry it etc.... Color probably isn't necessary, and alot of these things are lost out in the dunes. If it's just for finding your camp or a location in the dunes, a cheap one will do. If you plan on using it for hiway/city navigation go up in price. A basic etrex (yellow) works fine and relativly cheap. Does everything you need but maps for the most part.

Eatmyroost wrote:Thats a good idea about the speedometer/ odometer. Are they really that accurate and able to give you real time speed?

The only thing I have noticed about the speedometer is it only refreshes about every second, when we were trying to figure out the 100-yard speed of my buddyâ€™s sandrail it did not refresh fast enough to be perfectly accurate. The other thing I noticed is when you are climbing a dune and trying to figure out speed, I don't think there is any compensation for change of altitude, thus if the GPS is only measuring flat ground speed it will not read accurately. But what the heck, it's close enough for my sake.

Most the guys on this board will recommend the Garmin units. Nothing wrong with them either, some even have some radio's built in.

I think all GPSs have a "maximum speed" setting you could use. Just reset it before the start of the drags, then look it up after your run. I use the e-trex myself and it works great. Bring extra batteries, because they don't last forever and it is worthless if the batteries go out when you need it most. I have had experience with this advice.

Bill Jones
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I love the "trip computer" function on my Garmin. This morning I was driving Dr. Phillips around (he's got a Garmin III+ and a V+ himself) and used the GPS the whole way. So I know we went 7.4 miles total at an average speed of 15.5mph and top speed of 29.2 (hey it's a standard travel swing axle car and I had a passenger who had to balance a GPS and a clipboard on his lap)

And thanks to the track feature and USAPhotoMaps I can even show where we went today on a satellite image:

Again, Iam new to the GPS thing and researching the different models and brands. Like everything else there are so many to choose from with a wide price range and so many different features. Who has a better reciever Garmin, or magellin. They seem to be the biggest names on the market.

I have the Garmin ETrex Legend and really like it. I use it for off-road, out of town driving, and for work. The map features really help out when trying to find a streets & location you're not familar with.

If I wasn't "LoBuck", I would spend some cash on one with a bigger screen to use in the Jeep and Suburban.

I have the Magellan Platinum, it is great. A much larger screen than the Garmin Etrex. Also you can get the Motorcycle mount and hook it up to your to your car for continued power. The mountain bike mount works awesome. It never turns off when the car is riding on rough ground.